Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

The Winners – Hilton Head Island Concourse d’Elegance 2009

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The premier winners, the coveted ‘Best of Show’ and ‘People’s Choice’ awards along with the two recently established honors ‘Most Outstanding Car – Pre-1948’ and ‘Most Outstanding Car – Post-1948’ were chosen today for the prestigious Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival, held at the historic Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn.

concourse2Sunday’s Concours d’Elegance top honor, “Best of Show,” was awarded to a 1933 Rolls-Royce Coupe owned by Frank & Milli Ricciardelli of Monmouth
Beach, NJ.  First Owned by Sir Hugh Cunliffe-Owen, Baronet of Brey, County of Berkshire, Chairman of British American Tobacco Company and Director of Midland Bank, this car is a one off example with a PII Continental High Speed Chassis.  It was built specially for demonstration purposes. Other
significant awards on Sunday included “People’s Choice” awarded to a 1932 Packard Opera Coupe owned by Grace Clark of Yonges Island, SC.  The car was restored by her father 17 years ago.  Most Outstanding Car – Pre-1948 went to John W. Rich Sr.’s 1914 Renault EF and Most Outstanding Car – Post 1945 went to a 1957 Ford Thunderbird owned by Vernon Smith.  Philip Capossela, Event Chairman for the Hilton Head Island show, said, “we certainly had a tremendous show this year with more entries.  This year’s top honors were well deserved and we’re proud to have them in the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival’s history book.”  Added to that sentiment, Dr. Paul Doerring, one of the founding members of the Hilton Head Island event, stated, that “because we are able to display such outstanding cars, we had to showcase more of our remarkable entries with additional top awards over the past two years.  We’re proud that selecting a single “Best of Show” has becoming nearly impossible.”

councourse3Saturday’s top honors for the Car Club Jamboree were the “Best of Show Award” given to a 1967 Ferrari owned by Reinhold Preik, “People’s Choice
Award” given to a 1958 Porsche 356A Speedster owned by Ray Morgan, and the Chairman’s Award awarded to a 1950 Chrysler Town & Country Woodie Wagon owned by Aiken Ryan.

More than 600 automobiles made their way to the Hilton Head Island, SC/Savannah, GA Lowcountry this weekend to participate in the 8th
anniversary event. Dennis Gage of the SPEED Channel’s My Classic Car was on-site filming the Savannah/Hilton Head Speed Classic track event on
Savannah’s Hutchinson Island for his 2010 season.  Plus, Gage, was on-hand to select his favorite motorcycles from the Motoring Midway including “Best
Midway Motorcycle” awarded to a 1966 Honda CA 77 owned by William Aldrich of Lake City, FL and runner ups H.C. Morris for his 1967 Triumph T120TT and Robert O’Kelley for his 1970 Norton Commando S.  Michael Spezia, Executive Director and CEO of The Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan, served as the 2009 Honorary Chairman.

Carolyn Vanagel, Executive Director for the Motoring Festival today remarked, “The event was better than it’s ever been – higher quality, more
variety, larger exhibits – , the crowds were engaged, and I think we have had a record year.  There was a lot of excitement on the show field.”
Vanagel stated that the combination of the four glorious events, the Savannah/Hilton Head Speed Classic, the newly established Motoring Midway, the Car Club Jamboree and, of course, the pinnacle, the Concours d’Elegance, as well as the increased number and variety of sponsors, all helped to boost this year’s success.

Positioned as one of the last Concours in the national annual show circuit, the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival has quickly
climbed the ranks among national Concours events.   In just eight short years, Hilton Head Island is already considered by many as being among those elite USA events with the likes of Pebble Beach, Meadow Brook and Amelia Island.
Hilton Head Island Concourse d’Elegance 2009 – our previous post

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Legendary Race Car to Lead World’s Finest Vintage Motor Cars to Amelia Island

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JACKSONVILLE, Florida (December 10, 2008) – An unprecedented collection of the world’s finest vintage motor cars will roll into Amelia Island, March 14th, 2009 for RM Auctions’ highly anticipated Automobiles of Amelia Island event.

A popular and permanent fixture on the auto events calendar since 1999, the annual multi-million dollar auction will once again be held in conjunction with the famed Amelia Island  to make for an ultimate vintage car weekend for motoring enthusiasts. Held on the grounds of the stunning Ritz-Carlton Hotel – a setting only surpassed in beauty by the magnificent cars on offer – the event weekend is commonly referred to as the ‘Pebble Beach of the East Coast’, attracting fashionable collectors and enthusiasts from around the globe.

“Our Automobiles of Amelia Island auction is an important event on the collector car calendar as it attracts many European and East Coast enthusiasts,” said Ian Kelleher, Managing Director of RM Auctions.

“From speed to style, this year’s event will feature a magnificent roster of collector cars, highlighted by several historic race cars, some of which share Florida’s rich automotive racing history,” he added.

For the car enthusiasts amongst us, some 100 vintage motor cars are set to cross the block during the single-day RM auction. Highlighting the exceptional line-up is the legendary 1911 Oldsmobile Autocrat “Yellow Peril” race car, a historic 1927 Bugatti T51 with an extensive racing history, and an innovative and beautifully restored 1954 Packard Panther Concept car, one of just four built and the only one in roadster form.

1911 Oldsmobile Autocrat “Yellow Peril” race carThe “Yellow Peril” has a fascinating vintage racing history. Regarded as one of the biggest and most powerful vehicles of its era, the original owner, John Greenway Albert, modified the car shortly after purchase in an effort to make “race ready”. Special modifications included constructing a one-off aluminum race body and a unique gas generating system – the latter which saw Albert emerge as a pioneer of fuel injection. Painted bright yellow, Albert name the car “The Yellow Peril” and raced it on various local dirt and board tracks, reportedly often removing the fenders and headlamps to further lighten the load.

Other notable highlights for the event include: a 1941 Chrysler Newport, one of the earliest concept cars built and used as the Official Pace Car for the 1941 Indianapolis 500; a stunning 1939 Bugatti Type 57C Faux Cabriolet “Charmaine”, one of the last Bugattis built before World War II and formerly owned by a remarkable series of famous British personalities; and a magnificent collection of 1932 V8 Fords.
RM’s Automobiles of Amelia Island auction event will be held at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton, 4750 Amelia Island Parkway, Amelia Island on March 14th, 2009. A full day auction preview will be held March 13th from 9am to 6pm followed by the auction from 11am on March 14th. Admission to the auction is by catalog only, which admits both the catalog holder and a guest. The full-color collectable catalog is available for $100 U.S. (plus shipping), by calling (800)-211-4371 or visiting www.rmauctions.com.

About RM Auctions, Inc.
Celebrating nearly 30 years in the collector car industry, RM Auctions Inc. and its associated companies are responsible for acquisitions, restorations and sales of the world’s rarest and most valuable vintage automobiles, including record-breaking sales in Maranello, Italy and London, England. RM’s restoration division achieved unprecedented accolades in 2006, when the Company earned “Best of Show” honors at the world’s top three collector car events in a single year. www.rmauctions.com